High on the Mountain Top (Part II)

So after Friday's physical mountain top experience, we woke up Saturday morning to get our spiritual exercise and training. We had asked our Stake Presidency for tickets to a conference session (preferably Saturday morning so we could fly back Saturday afternoon) and they came through. Because it was to be a Solemn Assembly, I wasn't sure we would be able to get them. We were very grateful.

We parked at a garage that was noticeably vacant. I thought it was a little strange, until I realized that we were at 400 South and State. It is a long walk from there to the conference center! As we started the hike in the bitter cold wind that morning, we realized that we were going to have to hustle. If you are not in your seat by 9:30am, there is a chance it will be given away.

As we neared Temple Square, I saw the parking garage I had intended to park in...oh well :-). We decided we would ride the trolley back, so that would make up for it. As we were walking through the park between Temple Square and the Joseph Smith Building, someone called out "Hey, Brother Thomas, Brother Thomas!". I looked in the direction of the voice and was surprised to see Steven Underwood Jr. - one of my scouts from Ladera Ranch, running over to see us. I think one of his friends was Bishop Mike Grossen's son too, but I couldn't be sure...they are all getting so big! They were all there trying to find tickets into conference, along with a lot of other people. We talked for a minute or two, and Ben and Zach both remembered him...he used to baby sit for us there. Then we were off again to get in.

As we approached the Conference Center, we realized that we might not make it in in time! The lines were really long...they were moving along quickly, but were really long to get in. And there was the ever present sound of the anti's in the background preaching and railing against anything they could.

We moved forward toward the east-most entrance in what seemed to us to be the shortest line (also seemed to be the slowest moving once we were in it), when again I heard "Glenn Thomas - over here!", and turned to see Jeff Rush (one of Eldon's friends and a co-runner when we lived in Arizona and I was running with the marathon crowd). Big smiles on both of our parts. Wow! Small world.

We finally made it in, and after a lot of directions, made it to our seats. We were just right of the center in the balcony, about 15 rows up. I had forgotten to bring a pair of binoculars, but they had big screens on the wall that were gigantic...and provided all the detail of the speaker we would need.

One thing I noticed right away was how many people, despite being told numerous times on their way in, were talking on their cell phones and taking pictures. Even after President Monson and the First Presidency took their seats and after specific instructions not to take pictures over the speaker system, the flashes on the walls of the stage were telltale of the constant ignoring of this simple directive. I guess I shouldn't have been suprised then when the closing song started and many people got up, with their children in tow, and walked out. Zachary commented, "Dad, why do people do that?" The only thing I could think to say at the time was "Because they are only thinking of themselves Zachary".

Despite such occurrences, the conference was wonderful. The speakers were powerful - we all especially liked Elder Nelson's opening talk, and President Uchtdorf's reading of the names :-). The music was very beautiful. It was good to be there. And despite some confusion regarding the solemn assembly protocol, we made it through it and it was an uplifting and wonderful occasion.

After the conference was over, we slowly worked our way around looking for drinking fountains and bathrooms. At one point, we worked our way out onto the upper courtyards for this picture. It was windy and cold - can you tell?

As we walked through Temple Square afterwards, I realized that this was my golden opportunity to get a Russian language Book of Mormon for a co-worker that I'd promised him. Sure enough, we found the right person and he produced not only a Book of Mormon, but the Proclamation on the Family, Joseph Smith's Testimony, and the Testimony of the Twelve, all in Russian. Wow!

Next, we toured the Tabernacle and the Assembly Hall. Zachary's sharp eyes spied a spiral staircase on one side leading up to what we didn't know. I had never been inside this building I don't think. It was neat to explore it together. We talked with several missionary couples there who all commented how handsome Ben and Zach were and also asked if they were twins. That was the question most frequently asked on this trip - so much so that Zachary told Cindy about it when we got home...."Everyone kept asking us if we were twins!" :-).

Finally we rode the trolley back to the car and began driving to the airport, once more in search of a restaurant. What a LAME place for finding a restaurant!!! (Or a bad time to be without Yahoo Yellow Pages! :-D ). We drove most of Redwood Road and discovered the number one business in Utah - PAWN SHOPS!

After that discovery, anything cheap on the trip was labeled "PAWN". It was Pawn this and Pawn that...it got to be pretty funny. The opposite of PAWN I learned was "PIE" - an obvious choice when you're hungry and your Dad can't find a suitable restaurant! We finally settled on Sonic when we were really hoping for...I don't know...Olive Garden or something. Soup on such a cold day would have been wonderful. But instead, we sat in the Sonic parking lot eating our food and listening to the next session of General Conference on the radio. We slowly made our way back to the airport, wanting to listen to as much as we could of conference before we had to turn the car back in.






After some quick trinket shopping for all the kids, we passed through security and as luck would have it...walked to the VERY end of the terminal - B15! Another long walk - can you tell?

Our flight back to Albuquerque was uneventful (I slept through some of it) until we got close and then it was very very turbulent. We all commented that it was a good thing Cindy was not here, as she has a weak stomach for such roller-coaster rides! It really was turbulent!

The flight between Albuquerque and Dallas was great...very few passengers...we all got to spread out, and they treated us like Kings - our own cans of Ginger Ale! Ben and Zach drank their fill and more :-).

No three boys were more grateful however, to finally be home. I was glad to be away from PAWN-lined streets, and with the family I love. Ben and Zach were sad to leave the ski resorts and conference availability, but glad to see their Mom, to sleep in their own beds, and to eat good food.

The pillow fights at the hotel were fun though....Oh well. In two years, we'll do it all over again after Nicholas turns eight and is baptized!